Pages Books On Kensington

This is my favourite shop in Calgary. Every time I go there, I discover something relevant to my interests that I would never have known to look for on my own. I am beginning to suspect that this is a magical bookstore… It peers into the soul of each customer that enters and rearranges itself to highlight and display the books that particular individual would love.
Staff are amazing and passionate about books. One delightful guy (whose name I forgot to get — sorry young, tall man with the brown hair!) spent some time pointing out all the independent publishers I asked about and elaborating wonderfully on each of them.
You really can tell the difference when you are perusing a store curated and arranged by book lovers versus the Tageted! Bestsellers! approach of the highly focus-​grouped big chains.
Thanks, Pages!

The $ 5 sidewalk sale books was enough to get me in the door.
Inside I was impressed, although I had my niece with me in the stroller so I was unable to navigate up or down the stairs. Great bookstore!

On the nicer days recently they have a $ 5 sidewalk sale that always has something I want. Most of the sidewalk books come from their basement sale room (also a wonderful place to spend an hour).
Inside the store the main floor is mostly children’s books and fiction with classics at the back and indie publishers at the front of the store. They used to carry magazines, and I don’t think they do any more.
Upstairs there’s a great selection of art and design books, comics, science, philosophy, etc. The hardest part is picking out a book and figuring out whether I already own it.

This bookstore and its staff are a wonderful example of why it pays to buy local. The shop is small, but once they understand what you are looking for, they will find it for you, either on the shelves or by placing an order. I find this shop to be a rarity in this day and age– they are community-​minded, hosting events like authors’ nights and they are caring about the individual customer. Before you know it, you will feel that you are more than a customer; you have become friends. If you are like me and are still stubbornly committed to solid books you can hold in your hand, give Pages in Kensington a try.

I was wandering around the Kensington area recently and stumbled upon this very nice 2-​story independent book store. I enjoyed wandering around Pages and was particularly taken with a cool little message art project at an upstairs corner window and the sales shelf wedged between the stairs and the front glass. In between were friendly folks, cool pictures and art on the walls, and a fun selection of books to browse around and spend some quality time.

Beautiful little shop, great selection, passionate and knowledgeable owners and employees.
Nothing more you can ask for!
Support your local businesses!

I admit it… I’m a book junky!
No seriously, I love books.
I never get time to read all the books I buy.
Old books, new books, character books, business, self-​help.
Maybe I need a book on how to read all the books I have?!
Ok, back on point.
This is a gem in the awesome community of Kensington.
Are you a bookworm/​bibliophile/​book-​lover?
If so then this is the place for you.
A wickedly charming space on two floors.
Books you won’t find at a big-​box retailer nor is there a SB in the store.
Speaking of which, you can buy a book or ten here and then pop across the street to Higher Ground for a real coffee and a cookie and support yet another local business.
This place smells like a book store should it is THAT authentic!
The floors creak for extra character too — lol
Literary genius is evident in every book you pick up.
Kids books, cook books, novels, technical books, business — they have it all.
Perhaps 2 or 3 copies at most. But who cares! The selection is small and magical!
The staff are knowledgeable and so generous with their time to help you.
Notebooks! I love all the unique notebooks they have — which is the reason I went in to the store in the first place. What a great find.
I’ll be back over and over —- and you should be too.
Support local — we never want to lose this gem!

The benchmark for book stores in Alberta. As I give it a five star rating, I shall list Pages (inconsequential and somewhat endearing) flaws:
— Too much space given to fiction.
— Not enough space given to the wonders of natural history, para-​academic tracts, reprints of select obscurata, et cetera.
— The two major players working at pages (S & S) tend to fulfill every dream one may have of a developed human psyche. It makes me feel weird, yet exhilarated to ask for help.
That is all. I declare that you must go to there as soon as possible.

Okay guys, I have to tell you about the first time I discovered one of my favourite Canadian bands, The Wooden Sky.
It was a chilly February evening, during the winter before last. A friend and I had just stopped over at Higher Ground to grab some soy hot chocolates. As we descended the stairs from Higher Ground and I was scoping out what movies were playing across the way at the Plaza, I noticed that some lights were still on… uncharacteristic for Pages bookstore at 10 pm on a weekday.
Curious to see what was going on inside, we scurried across the road, hot chocolates in hand. Stepping inside, there was no one downstairs, but beautiful folk music coming from upstairs. I tiptoed up the stairs so as not to interject with the creaking of the wood. I was completely taken by their sound… acoustic guitar, lap slide guitar, ukelele, folksy/​alt country vocals harmonizing with this remarkable softness. Soooo gorgeous. You know when you just discover the perfect band, that you feel embodies everything that you love completely, and you don’t know how they ever slipped under your radar, or how you lived without them ever before? That’s exactly what happened to me.
In the same away, I have discovered many books at Pages that have given me that same feeling. There is nothing like stepping into a creeky little bookstore, escaping the chill of the air, and a novel just jumping out at you on the shelves. I never even realized what I’d been missing before taking home Leonard Cohen’s «Beautiful Losers» one equally chilly winter morning, and now I don’t know what I’d do without it. Somehow, I always find what I’m looking for (or didn’t know what I was looking for) at Pages.
With its incredible selection, community involvement, and lovely shows and readings that go on, I continue to be charmed.

Pages is an interesting bookstore that sets itself apart from the big-​chain stores like Indigo and Chapters (aren’t they owned by the same corporation?). The first time I set foot in Pages was for a poetry reading. It was an intimate venue held on the second floor, and I would suggest anyone with an open mind to check out their monthly readings.
I’ve browsed around the isles of pages and found the diverse selection, there were more independently published materials especially from local writers. The books are fairly priced and if you have some spare change in your pocket, I suggest taking a chance on a locally published chapbook.
Pages is definitely Calgary version of San Fran’s City Lights bookstore. Lit-​nerds unite!

The best place in Calgary to buy moleskine notebooks. What they don’t have in stock, they can order and get to you within a week.

Somehow I’ve managed to spend all of this time in Kensington without having yet been to Pages. Bookstores are not generally spots I frequent, I blame this fact on the interwebs. But having places like Pages around may just be enough to entice me to return again fairly soon.
This visit was short and sweet, but impressive nonetheless. I was in need of a notebook for a meeting and figured a bookstore was my best bet. Bingo! Right next to the door, I found a small selection of notebooks and journals.
The lady behind the counter was amazingly friendly. As she run in my purchase, she asked if I was in the customer database. Turns out Pages tracks all of your purchases and 5% of each one goes towards a store credit. A few more visits and I’ll be well on my way to a free book :).
Next up, visiting for one of their many events.

This is one of my favourite places in Kensington, and quite possibly the best independent bookstore in Calgary.
The staff are always friendly and eager to help, but not too eager. They will let you do your thing without pestering you to get this or that. The selection of books is as varied as I’ve seen without stocking technical/​computer books and textbooks.
Usually I make a bee-​line upstairs first in order to check out the new and updated offerings in the realms of cooking, outdoors, math/​science/​technology, and society. It is very easy to spend upwards of an hour up there alone. I don’t read as much fiction lately, so don’t really spend as much time on the main floor. Chances are, though, if you’re looking for it and they don’t have it, they can get it for you.
Pages also regularly hosts readings, discussions, and other events (such as Pages at the Plaza) where you can learn more about an author, title, genre, or whatever. The only bad thing is the web site is not always kept up to date, so it might be best to call if you’re wondering about a specific event. Better yet, just go in and find out. They are always listed on the blackboard behind the service desk.
I guess the only real problem with the place is that it is not exactly wheelchair accessible, nor is it particularly friendly to those with other types of mobility impairments (crutches, braces, etc). It is would be difficult, if not impossible (in the case of wheelchairs) for people using such devices to get upstairs. Still, it is a nice breath of fresh air compared to the big boxes (Indigo, Chapters, etc, even Amazon!)

Correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe this is one the few independent book stores left in Calgary. Shopping here just feels right. I love the way the floors creek when you walk around, it is like a store you would see in a movie like Notting Hill or something.
The book store is two stories, so its selection is surprisingly big. If you go when it is warm outside, they always have a really nice selection of discount books outside. Sometimes it is just fun to pick through them and find books that you didn’t even know could exist.
Pages is always on my must-​do list anytime I’m in Kensington. For some reason, I always just feel refreshed after walking its aisles.

Pages on Kensington is a bookstore with personality that you’re not going to find in any big-​box Chapters or Indigo Books.
From the creaky second story floor, to their extensive collection of often underrepresented Canadian literature, Pages is a locally owned business that’s a cut above the competition.
That being said, personality alone isn’t enough to recommend this place. Nor does it have to be, because they have a superb selection of all the genres you desire lining the shelves of their quaint, quiet space. That, as well as the friendly, knowledgeable staff, makes Pages on Kensington an ideal book-​buying destination.

I like Pages, the independent bookstore in Calgary seems to be a dying species; with the onslaught of Chapters and Indigo books, sometimes it is even cheaper to buy a novel at a used bookstore.
However there is nothing like buying a fresh book with fresh pages and entering to a store where staff know about their goods and buy a good read.
They seem to have a lot of original Canadian novels here; the whole first level of the store seemed to carry many new fiction books as well as children’s books. There is also a magazine area in one corner that carries alternative reads and in the other corner a unique diary and journal selection.
There is a second floor that caters to philosophy, architecture, art and biographies. Seconds after I entered the store, the owner’s family had entered from the back and the woman was soon helping her 2 year old boy discovery the stairs. Very sweet and family orientated, pages is a special place to visit.

Pages in Kensington is the kind of bookstore you see in the movies. It’s got that old bookstore feel to it, the staff is friendly, and it’s full of locals. It actually remind me a lot of the bookstore in ‘Beauty And The Beast’… I know, cheesy, but it’s true.
Pages carries a HUGE variety of books. They’ve got books that I’ve never even seen on the shelves of my local Chapters, and the service is excellent. If you need a hand finding anything, someone is always around to help you.
Aside from a wide variety of books, they also sell journals, bookmarks and other reading accessories.
I was extremely impressed with my visit to Pages. Their shelves are well-​stocked, their staff is awesome and their prices are some of the best I’ve seen in the city!

From the initial looks of this store, I was sure it was a used bookstore, but upon closer inspection, I realized that only sell new books. Pages Books has that old feel though, with its floors that creak every time you take a step. This store is a little small, with two floors, but the quality of selection is fantastic.
Their shelves are full of interesting books – the kind of books that are interesting for a long time. I didn’t see that many #1 bestsellers or fad books. I did see a lot of Canadian books though, which I thought was great, because so many bookstores (mostly large chains) hardly focus on Canadian authors at all, or even many Canadian publishers for that matter.
Near the front of the store, I found some great journals. Some had really cool designs, like the one with a robot/​space cover, and the pages on the inside were graphic paper with little squares, rather than lines.
Outside, there’s a table with discounted books. They aren’t all total rejects though. There some great finds at great prices.

This place is the best independent bookstore left in Calgary. The staff are always helpful and will order a book for you if you can’t find what you’re looking for in their two-​level store. You get a sense these guys know what they’re doing. It even smells like an old bookstore upstairs.
Pages even offers readings from prominent authors from time to time and have a wall full of photos of past and present Canadian literati. I found a great deal on their outside book racks (that were literally on the sidewalk out front) of a book I was looking for. They actually had a lot of great books marked down for their sidewalk sale.
This place is worth a visit if you like good books and a cool atmosphere.